Wednesday, October 26, 2011

The Vampire was the most celebrated work of British painter, Sir Philip Burne-Jones (1861-1926). He was the son of Sir Edward Burne-Jones, who was connected to the Pre-Raphaelite art movement.

A poem called The Vampire, written by Rudyard Kipling, was inspired by this painting.

Philip Burne-Jones produced more than 60 paintings during his life, and his work was exhibited in prestigious galleries in both London and Paris. He was, however, never fully able to step out of the shadow of his more famous father.

I was already completely captivated by The Vampire before stumbling upon the delightful portrait of the artist with his cat, but now I'm even more impressed by Philip Burne-Jones.

I gratefully accept this award from the lovely Marilyn of art bliss blog. Thank you and I dig your blog as well.

I have received this award a couple of times before, so I'll try to keep my facts short and sweet because I'm all out of "interesting" by this stage.

1. I adore cats!

2. I love coffee, wine, Italian food, Chinese food, and a day without chocolate is... well, let's not go there!

3. My aesthetic tastes are a peculiar mix of Victorian Gothic and Mid 20th Century design. I put this down to a childhood spent watching Hammer Horrors, and reruns of Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, and The Addams Family.

Monday, October 24, 2011

There are many talented doll artists on Etsy, and one whose work I have admired for some time is Will, from Vagabond Cafe, which is both the name of his shop, and a fictional establishment that serves the "strange and unusual". A horror enthusiast, Will patches together wonderful little monsters, with colourful back stories, who inhabit a dark, imaginary world that he has created.

"I grew up with a healthy obsession with all things horror - films, books, magazines, art. It's still an obsession to this day and that is where a lot of my inspiration comes from. I'm also inspired by childrens books, fairy tales, squirrels, rabbits and any animals with personality.

For most of my life I've had dreams of being a filmmaker, photographer or writer. I think of the dolls I make as characters in a story I've written or a film I've made in my head."

Friday, October 21, 2011

One of the biggest inspirations for the little dolls that I make, came from reading The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. If you haven't read it, I don't want to give too much away, but essentially the story is about a living baby boy who is given sanctuary within the walls of a graveyard after the tragic death of his family. He is adopted and raised by a ghost couple, and provided protection by the cemetery's deceased (and undead) inhabitants because his life is in danger from an outside threat.

I absolutely loved the premise of this novel, and the originality of the graveyard being a little island of security amidst a larger world filled with peril and horror really appealed to me. The imagery of the child (named "Nobody" by the spirits) playing amongst the tombstones with the ghosts of long-dead children, resonated with me as well. It was literally the moment after finishing the book that the idea for a doll popped into my head.

Like Coraline, The Graveyard Book is one of Neil Gaiman's children's novels, but it can definitely be enjoyed by adults, and in fact, the opening scene might even be regarded as too frightening for some children.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

"In Ghastlie Manor on Ghastlie Street, there's a Ghastlie family there to meet. Mathilda Ghastlie with husband too, extend a Ghastlie hand to you. It's a Ghastlie day for a Ghastlie walk, under Ghastlie trees on a Ghastlie block. A Ghastlie time for Ghastlie things, like Ghastlie pets with Ghastlie wings!"

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I thought I might let you in on one of my little obsessions, The Ghastlies. In case you don't recognize them, they are part of a Halloween line from Alexander Henry Fabrics. Of course, The Addams Family will always be my first love when it comes to spooky clans, but I've become quite besotted with The Ghastlies as well.

The images on these fabrics are aesthetically just my cup of tea, but more than that, they also manage to create an engagingly eerie little world of Victorian Gothic manors, graveyards, bats, witches and vampires as the backdrop for this creepy family, and their cat, Sebastian.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Thank you to everyone who entered the giveaway for my Zola the Zombie doll during the Blogger Zombie Walk. There were 37 entries in the draw. I assigned a number to each comment, in the order that they were left, and then put the numbers into the Random.org "True Random Number Generator". The result was Number 2, HollyHorrorshow. Congratulations, Holly! Zola will soon be on her way to nibble at your brain!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

I discovered this lovely set of Halloween greeting cards in the Etsy shop, Mademoiselle G. They are the work of illustrator and doll artist, Genevieve Marquis, and they could either be sent to a Halloween-loving friend or framed.

I just wanted to thank the lovely Lilia Tombs, of Horror Shock Lolipop, for featuring my little dolls on her blog. Horror Shock Lolipop is run by a team of bloggers dedicated to all things creepy, cute, horror, Halloween, strange and unusual. You can check it out here.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Lucifer: "You know, I really think Prince William has found the right girl. What do you think?"

The seventh season of Supernatural picked up immediately where the sixth season ended, and having now watched the first two episodes, I have to say, it was an utterly spectacular start! (Warning: The following may contain spoilers.) If Castiel turning dark-side and declaring himself the new God wasn't enough, another Big Bad emerged in the form of the biblical demons, Leviathans. Even better, two of my favourite supporting characters, Death and Crowley, are back, as is Lucifer.

Season Seven has just dived headlong into the drama. By the end of the second episode, Bobby, Dean, and Sam are already in a seemingly hopeless position, and with Bobby's house destroyed, they've lost the series home base. Plus, today I discovered a delightful surprise. The upcoming 5th episode, wickedly titled, "Shut Up, Dr. Phil", guest stars, Charisma Carpenter and James Marsters. For those who don't know, that's Cordelia and Spike, respectively, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer... be still, my beating heart!

About Me

Hi, my name is Emma and I live in Australia with my husband, my son, and a little cat called Phoebe. I am smitten with the groovy, the gothic, the spooky, Halloween, superheroes, and cats. I make and draw. You can find me on Instagram as @littlegothichorrors, or my personal account @groovygothic.

I don't do reviews or sponsored posts. Anything I enthuse about here is already a personal favourite or something wonderful I've simply stumbled upon.

Copyright

Any text or images that are not mine remain the property of their respective owners and no copyright infringement is intended or should be inferred. All other content on this blog belongs to me, including the frame artwork and the design of the Little Gothic Horrors dolls.